Is there any thinking behind the QB change other than to save money? It's not unknown for 2 QBs to go down in a game and having fewer young guys around the league will make it harder to discover or develop the rare gems that go on to become long-term CFL starters.
Somehow Saskatchewan has 4 QBs though...
Riders only have 3 on the active roster. They're 4th is stashed on the PR like Dru Brown is for the Bombers, likely under the "protected" PR. I think the Paxton Lynch signing put them in a bind. Isaac Harker is good friends with and trains with Fajardo and has experience meaning they weren't going to release him. Lynch is not the type of player or person clearly based on his comments so far that would accept something like a PR assignment. In fact in 2-3 weeks once he realizes he is 3rd string I expect him to walk away, probably what the Riders are also fearing which is why they've kept a 4th on their PR. Knowing Sask's history they likely try to fake adding Lynch or Harker to the IR. If not one of Lynch or Harker will be listed elsewhere on the depth chart.
To be clear I agree with 100%. Imo it sucks not having 3 QB's on the roster, makes things much tighter and could end up missing out on some great QBs. Now I have no inside info and I cannot say for sure why the rule was changed but below I'm listing what I think the CFL is thinking.
The first and most obvious is the money as you said. It's very very rare that 3rd stringer would need to go in for injuries in the same game. Between games you can always adjust to make sure you have 2 QB's active. Most NFL teams now only dress 2 QB's (CFL has done away with inactives) and many even only roster 2 now.
Secondly I think the Bombers pissed off ALOT of teams a couple years ago. It was a minor thing but CFL teams I think noticed. You might have seen earlier I was talking about how CFL rules stated you couldn't have more than 1 QB on the field at the same time. Since the CFL counts QB separate from the Canadian-American-Global, this was to prevent teams from stashing an american WR/RB at the #3 spot of QB, thereby opening up another backup or "designated" american spot. This rule may also have prevented QB's from playing defense, idk, that never came up. Well a couple years ago the Bombers had basically set their QB spot before camp but then one QB retired on the eve of TC. I think at that point the Bombers then offered the #3 QB spot to their camp body Bryan Bennett if he would be willing to help out on ST. He played fairly extensively on ST that year, never entering the game at QB. He was quickly released in the off-season, it was clear the Bombers never considered him as a legitimate QB talent. I think this made alot of teams scared that teams would start "hiding" guys as QB in the #3 spot to be used in non-QB roles.
Thirdly I believe this is being done to encourage teams to look at Canadian QB's in a round about manner. Let's say you are entering the with an established starter. Also brought up this hotshot prospect, but he's not fully developed and you love the upside but aren't sure about the now. Now stashing him on the PR can be risky (player has to agree to it for one, can take a release instead). So instead you bring in a Michael O'Connor or Dakota Prokop or Nathan Rourke as a WR/FB/RB whatever. Now you have a canadian QB backup. While front line canadians are valuable and elite, back end canadians are far less valuable than their backend american equivalents. Think Janarion Grant (backup WR/starting KR) or Tobi Angtiha (rotational pass rusher/backup DL/LB) versus Asotui Eli (backup OL, plays only in emergencies maybe FG team), James Tyrell (undrafted backup WR signed only in late June), Tanner Cadwaller (ST only), or Les Maruo* (ST at least for now). If the starter goes down you could move O'Connor over to starting QB and you gain an American starting spot elsewhere in the lineup as well. If your unfamiliar this rule was changed a couple years ago after Brandon Bridges complained. Now if you start a canadian at QB it counts as one of your 7 starting Canadians, however it does not affect the roster make up. Encouraging Canadian talent at QB could be done better many other ways, but this might be an added bonus.
*I know Maruo is Global, he's occupying spot #44 on the roster it can be Canadian or Global.